Birnam Oak Advisors LP Invests $18 Million in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Birnam Oak Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 135,310 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $17,998,000. Hess makes up 8.7% of Birnam Oak Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $150.43 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $145.47 and its 200 day moving average is $140.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.